Climate Hub Student Project Fund
Any student at Drexel with a climate-oriented project or project idea can participate in TEC’s Student Project Fund. A total of $25,000 is available to award five or more transdisciplinary teams over the one-year funding period.
Apply for the Student Project Fund (due March 5th).
For Full Information, Visit tinyurl.com/TECStudentProjectFund
At its core, the Student Project Fund is an immersive learning opportunity rooted in student empowerment. Unique from existing undergraduate mini-grants at Drexel, the Student Project Fund offers unprecedented opportunities for community and climate-oriented student innovation. The Student Project Fund also seeks to support student-led community-based participatory research initiatives, bringing together increased undergraduate research impact with student partnerships with local communities. Students will practice and build on skills in stakeholder engagement, decision-making, project management, project coordination, networking, data-driven advocacy, and problem-solving.
Program Overview
- Up to $5,000 is available for each student project over the course of the one-year funding period. Approximately 5-8 student projects may be awarded.
- Student projects may be team-based or individual and may span the areas of environmentally-oriented research, storytelling, community engagement, campus sustainability, green engineering, local and national level climate policy, and any other climate-based project area.
- While funding will not cover student stipends, students will be matched with a faculty member to organize independent study credits to contribute toward the student’s degree program. Students may choose to opt out of this process.
- Students must participate in the project selection voting process, which will be considered in the award decision. They should also seek a faculty mentor for their project by July 1, 2024.
- Students and faculty will participate in a series of workshops and events to further project efforts, including the Faculty-Student Networking Workshop and Brainstorming, the Community Partnerships Workshop and Brainstorming, the 6-month Progress and Project Challenges Discussion Meeting, and the Annual TEC Climate Hub Student Project Fund Poster Summit.
- An End-of-Year Reflection will be due July 2025.
Faculty-Student Pairing
After acceptance into the Student Project Fund program, faculty-student pairing will be facilitated (but not directly matched) through the Faculty-Student Networking Workshop and 1-on-1 support with The Environmental Collaboratory. Faculty are expected to hold expertise in the student’s project area of choice, harbor a committed interest in the proposal ideas, and be willing to support and mentor the project’s development. They should arrange a 1-2 credit independent study for the student to compensate for student efforts. Faculty advisors are required for initially accepted student projects to receive funding. Funds will be administered throughout April - June 2024 and will be run through the faculty or staff advisor’s department.
Key Dates
- March 5, 2024 – Application due date
- March 24, 2024 – Student voting form due
- March 30, 2024 – Notification of award decisions
- April - June 2024 – Faculty-student matching process & beginning of fund dispersal
- July 1, 2024 – Project funding period officially begins
- July, 2024 – The Community Partnerships Workshop and Brainstorming is hosted.
- January, 2025 – The 6-month Progress and Project Challenges Discussion Meeting is hosted.
- July 2025 – The Annual TEC Climate Hub Student Project Fund Poster Summit is hosted.
- August 2025 – End of Year Reflection is due, and project accomplishments are publicized through Drexel media and newsletters.
For questions, please email environmentalcollab@drexel.edu.